“How about coming downtown and having your sandwich here? I’ll have Kate order something for us.”
“You’re inviting me to lunch?” she asked. He’d joined her in Shadyside once or twice, but had never invited her downtown.
“I’m inviting you to lunch,” he said. “You know, I never did get to have you bent over my desk. I think you owe me a position.”
Her cheeks heated remembering the first time they’d had sex. But then she realized, “There’s no way I could get downtown on a bus and get all the way back here in time to start my shift.”
“Oh, I’ve already taken care of that. Go to the parking lot.”
“Did you send a car service again?” she asked, walking toward the lobby and out the glass doors. “My lunch hour doesn’t start until one today.”
“Do you see a red Mini?”
Layla found said red Mini in one of the closer parking spaces, gleaming under the August sun. It still had its dealer’s plates. Her heart stopped. “You didn’t…”
“I’m sick of you using that ‘no car’ excuse to squirm out of anything you don’t want to do.”
Layla ran out to look at the car, which happened to be exactly the one she had always dreamed of owning.
“I’ve never used not having a car as an excuse. I’d love to have lunch with you, but I can’t possibly take a car from you. It’s bad enough that you got me the new phone, because you said you wanted me to be accessible by email. Now you’re buying me a car?” But even as she said this, her eyes ran greedily over the delectable vehicle. She’d always had a thing for Minis. “A really nice car.”
“Layla, do you seriously want to fight me on this? Haven’t I proven how hard I am to say no to yet? What else do I have to do?”
He made it sound like he was the aggrieved party here, and Layla was just being difficult.
“Don’t be difficult,” he said, echoing her thoughts in his all-business tone. “I just want to ensure I see you in a timely manner not dictated by the Pittsburgh bus schedule.”
“Yeah, but how can I ever pay you back for this?” she asked, her voice small.
“Well, I do have this black-tie fundraiser for the Pittsburgh Opera next Friday. It’s going to be hellishly boring, but I have to go because I’m on the board. You could come with me. Then we can call it even on the car.”
Layla smiled into her phone. “I would have come with you anyway,” she said. “All you had to do was ask. No car needed.”
“I’ll remember that next time,” he said. “Kate left the keys on the front wheel.”
She groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t inconvenience her again for me.”
“I’m hanging up on you before you convince me to triple her holiday bonus just for doing her job.”
She bit her lip. “It doesn’t have to be triple. I’d settle for double.”
“Goodbye, Layla.”
“Or at least let me pick out something really nice for her Christmas present before I leave. It’s the least I could do.”
“We’ll talk about it when you get here. See you then.”
Before she could answer he hung up, leaving Layla alone with her new car and the feeling it was just going to become harder and harder everyday not to fall in love with him.
***
A couple of hours later, Kate buzzed into Nathan’s office. “Two things,” she said. “Layla’s on her way up.”
“Great, great,” he said. “Just send her straight in.”
“And your brother’s on line one.”
Nathan paused. At the beginning of the summer, he would have jumped at the chance to harass his brother to come back to Pittsburgh. Nathan had been handling all the negotiations with Matsuda along with the other global initiatives Andrew had abandoned. But with Layla on her way up to his office, Andrew was the last person he wanted to talk to.
He sighed. “New plan: keep Layla out there with you while I deal with him.”
“Yes, Mr. Sinclair.” Kate signed off.
He pushed line one and said, “Andrew.”
“Nathan,” his brother answered. “I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I can’t come home. Not yet. I’m going to ask Diana for a divorce, and if you don’t want me to do it before the ball, then I’ll just have to skip it. It’s dishonorable to be in the same room with her, when I know we’re only using her to host a party at this point.”
“You and your honor,” Nathan said, his thoughts going to Layla. “I’m sure Diana’s alimony check will more than make up for all of her hostess duties.”
“She’s a human being with feelings,” Andrew said. “Do you get that I’m about to ask her for a divorce? Our marriage has fallen apart. Why do always assume everyone can be bought off?”
Again Layla drifted into his mind. His parents hadn’t approved of her and Andrew’s relationship, but everyone else had. Their friends, the Sinclair servants, even strangers on the street had said they made the perfect couple. Jealousy burned through Nathan just thinking back to those days when he’d had to watch them afar, wanting what Andrew had so badly, but not being able to do anything about it.
“Fine, don’t come to the ball,” he told his brother. “I’ll handle it and Diana, who keeps on calling me, asking if I know anything about your whereabouts. I’ll let her know you’re not coming home until after the ball, because you’re oh-so-concerned about her feelings, which is obviously why you disappeared and haven’t given her so much as a call since you did. I’m sure she’ll come away from this all seeing how honorable you are.”
Then, for the second time that summer, he hung up on his brother.
***
Outside Nathan’s office, Layla twiddled her thumbs. She was experiencing a certain sense of déjà vu, sitting on the same couch as before, waiting for Nathan to finish up whatever business he was conducting behind closed doors.
“Do you know how long he’s going to be?” Layla asked his assistant. “I only have an hour for lunch.”
Kate didn’t look up from her computer. “I’m sure it won’t be long.”
Layla sat forward on the grey couch. “By the way, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done since my apartment door got vandalized. I loved all the clothes you sent over, too. You have great taste. And I really appreciate you dropping off the new car. I’m already in love with it.”